by KAYTEE 9 Replies latest watchtower bible
Any ideas what swallowed Jonah, was it -
1. a sperm-whale,
2. a great white shark
3. a whale shark
These are the three guesses, that the Organisation has come up with. There has been no further enlightenment on the subject. If they can't get a simple thing like that right, then why guess at all.
In view of the above, what chance have they got, in getting it right when it comes to deeper prophecies. King of the North, 1914, 607. etc. Were these yet more guesses?
Linda Lovelace?
What else was a guess ?
It's more like a decision based on what they "know" - which then becomes an affirmation, of what they have discerned based on what they "know" - building upon what they already had.
"Take heed then how you hear, for to him who has more will be given"
I suppose that a decision based on a lie could somehow be described as a guess, but I think that when you guess you often get it right - they don't manage to do that - there's a bit more to it.
paduan
I think it's a fable, not meant to be taken literally.
KAYTEE
Mulan is correct. It is an allegory, and was written to serve a purpose. When the Jews first returned to Jerusalem, they underwent a period of intense religious bigotry. Some of the first returnees had intermarried with those who had come to inhabit the land. After the religious zealots arrived, somewhat later, they were required to divorce their wives. That was a serious business in those days since those wives got no child support and had no means of employment. There was a concentrated effort to drive the "immigrants" from the area, much like what happened when modern day Jews returned to Israel and drove out the Palestinians. The Book of Jonah tends to refute the intense nationalism prevalent in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. It presents a different aspect of God than found in Ezra/Nehemiah. It is a God who loves all people, even those in Nineveh.
Edited by - Navigator on 11 November 2002 6:6:13
Wasn't Me. I never swallow!
One thing I got from reading Jonah was how Jonah was dark about God not destroying the Ninevites, after He said He was going to - in the words in Jonah, "God changed His mind" or "God repented".
I used to ask dubs at the door about armageddon, 'what if He changes His mind, like in Jonah?' I think some jws really don't like that - and I think those same told other jws -- when the jws who dealt wickedly with us did speak to us, they made a point of saying, "WE CHANGED OUR MIND".
LOL - I think it works
paduan
Edited by - a paduan on 11 November 2002 20:57:59
Navigator, yer right! Twas a "porpose"!
:-) carm
Linda Lovelace?
ROFLMAO
Somehow necrophilia does not appeal to me, since I believe Ms. Lovelace is now deceased.
Nevertheless, that was funny!
Reborn, you are correct. Linda Lovelace died several months ago. I think she was 53 years old. I also recall reading that she became active in speaking out against pornography.
Allegorical or not (in the case of what I am about to say, let's assume it's not) I see no problem with not knowing for sure what it was that swallowed Jonah. It's simply termed a "great fish", and the whale-shark would seem to fit this very brief description; plus, they tend to be pretty docile creatures. But I don't have a problem with the lack of certainty as to what specific type of creature it was. I must say though, that allegory theory sounds interesting.
